The 2024 Type Directors Club Annual
9. POIZONSans
ACD Dewu Design
13. Moulin Sandrine Nugue
11. Leopardo 205TF
10. Norbert TypeMates
14.YouTube Sans Tamil Ek Type
12. Jeff Koons Font Ji Eun Lee
Type Excellence of 2024
Type Diversity
This years competition highlighted an impressive range of type, with winners from around the world. The United States led with the highest representation at 25%, followed closely by China, France, India, and the Netherlands. Emerging talent from countries like Vietnam, South Korea, and Brazil also made a strong impression. This diversity showcases the TDC’s commitment to celebrating creativity across borders, bringing together top talent from the entire typography community.
Increase In Global Presence
There has been a notable shift this year in the significant presence of non-Latin typefaces, a departure from past years where Latin-based type dominated. 48% of winning typefaces were non-Latin this year with Arabic and Chinese representing the majority. This expansion reflects an increased focus on cultural inclusivity and global representation in design. Additionally, the variety in styles is impressive, with display, serif, sans-serif, and script typefaces being represented in nearly equal measure. This balance in style offers a refreshing range that highlights both classic and experimental design, making the 2024 selection one of the most exciting and varied yet.
Demographics
Winners hailed from 14 countries, including the United States, China, Iran, France, Germany, The Netherlands, South Korea, and Brazil. 48%
Of winners were from outside of US.
Of typefaces were non-Latin. 75%
DUPINCEL
Designer:
Designer: Sandrine Nugue
Montpellier, France
Designer: Plau Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Designer: Hirbod Lotfian
Designer:
Designer: Apple Design Team Location: Cupertino, California Location: Amiens, France
Designer:
Designer:
Type Location: Mumbai, India
Designer: Sakkal Design Location: Bothell, Washington
Designer: Cinketype Location: Budapest, Hungary
Designer: Ricloud Type Location: Dalian, China
Designer:
Language
Typefaces were non-Latin.
Contrast
58%
Typefaces were low contrast.
Behind the Designs
Characteristics of the 2024 Winners
The 2024 TDC Type Design awards showcased a diverse and impressive range of excellent typefaces. There were 36 winners this year, the highest number in the TDC’s 78 year history. Breaking down the data insights of the current state of type design in 2024 reveals the trajectory of the industry.
Type Technicalities
The technical characteristics of the entries were marked by notable trends. A substantial 58% of the typefaces exhibited low contrast, indicating a preference for subtle shifts in stroke weight, suitable for a variety of modern applications. Additionally, most typefaces (53%) featured a single axis of variation, a practical choice, though multi-axis designs are steadily gaining ground. Italic and slanted styles were also well-represented, with 18 typefaces incorporating these features, demonstrating the continued relevance of expressive and dynamic letterforms. Weight distribution within type families highlighted the predominance of multi-weight designs. On average, the typefaces had 7 weights, underscoring the flexibility and versatility expected in modern type design. While single-weight typefaces remain significant, they were clearly outnumbered by these multi-weight families. Among the submissions, 6 superfamilies were noted, many of which originated from tech-related projects, reflecting the ongoing intersection between typography and technology.
Type on a Global Spectrum
Significantly, 21 of the winning typefaces were non-Latin, reflecting the growing emphasis on highlighting a broader range of languages. This years winners covered an impressive linguistic and geographic spectrum, featuring typefaces in Mongolian, Chinese, Korean, Persian, Sanskrit, Georgian, Hebrew, Devanagari, and Armenian among others. Winners hailed from 14 countries, including the United States, China, Iran, France, Germany, The Netherlands, South Korea, and Brazil.
A Shifting Industry
This year it has become clear that variable fonts are on the rise and here to stay. Out of the 36 typefaces, 11 were variable, demonstrating the increasing influence of this technology, which allows for a flexible range of typographic expressions within a single file. This trend is likely to be a staple in future TDC competitions as designers continue to embrace its possibilities. In terms of style, sans-serif typefaces remained dominant with 14 winners such as the YouTube Sans Family, SF Family, and Ese-Unen; however, the competition saw a significant rise in scripts and display typefaces, reflecting the ongoing diversification in type design. There were 10 scripts, 8 serifs, and 7 display
many of which
This
an
While sans serifs were the most common typestyle of the year, TDC 43 marked its most diverse selection yet, with an impressive variety of scripts, non-Latin, and display typefaces.
38%
Typefaces were Sans Serifs. 25% Typefaces were Scripts.
Meet the Designers
Read about the people behind the typefaces of TDC 70. Join us in celebrating the talent of those who are pushing boundaries, leading the industry, and shaping the future of typography.
Typeface: Loes Location: Hanoi, Vietnam
Duong Tran is a type designer currently on his journey of crafting letters with passion, emotional expression and precision. Duong has been designing type since 2020 and strives to blend storytelling with visuals within each project. Tran already has three typefaces available on Future Fonts: Loes, Lavishe, and Thow. Duong focuses on finding ways to scale up the market of Vietnamese supported typefaces and his active posting of Vietnamese typographic explorations increases visibility of the language.
Typeface: Gramophone Location: Shiraz, Iran
Karim Ameri is a type designer under the name Ameri Type. He holds a bachelor's degree in design from Shiraz Art University and has focused much of his work on developing fonts that blend traditional calligraphy with modern typographic styles. His designs often draw inspiration from Persian script traditions, especially Naskh and Thuluth styles. Ameri has designed several notable typefaces, including Falsafeh Telegraph, and TDC winner Gramophone. His type work can be found on Fontiran.
mic, classical, and decorative typographic explorations.
Typeface: Darvish
Location: Iran
Standard Font is the project of Reza Bohlul, an Iranian designer, and photographer. With a passion for digital lettering and the advancement of type design, Reza's work merges traditional craftsmanship with modern technology. He distributes his typefaces through the font store FontIran, which serves as a key platform for Persian typography. In addition to his typefaces, Reza is the designer and developer of Wall Script, a plugin for Glyphs that allows users
Typeface: TieXian Kaishu Family Location: Dalian, China
Ricoud
BORNA IZADPANAH
HIRBOD LOTFIAN
SANDRINE NUGUE
ALEXANDRE BASSI
GUODONG ZHAN
CELINE HURKA
MARK CANESO
Canela Arabic
Kuwait City, Kuwait
KHAJAG APELIAN
Typeface: Decutto
MICHAEL RAFAILYK
REZA BOHLUL
KARIM AMERI
DUONG
MID-SIZED
FOUNDER TYPE
Typeface: Fzlingfeig
Location: Beijing, China
Founder Type is a leader in the field of Chinese type design. Known for their rich styles and extensive catalogue, Founder has more than 2,000 simplified and traditional Chinese character libraries. Founder Type has always set out to promote the advancement of Chinese font technology and development of Chinese printing fonts. Founder Type are active participants in creating Chinese national type standards, fulfilling the aesthetic and technical requirements of the language through their typefaces.
BVH TYPE
Typeface: Dina Typefamily
Location: Paris, France
Established in 2022 by Swiss typographer/type designer André Baldinger and German graphic designer Toan Vu-Huu, bvh type is an extension of their design studio, baldinger•vu-huu. Original, singular, and contemporary typefaces are their mark. Being a small team, bvh accepts nothing less than excellence. Each of their typefaces is used and extensively tested in at least one of their design projects before going public. Their type is informed by location, with many inspired by their French clientele.
RESET TYPE STUDIO
Typeface:
Location: Paris, France
Yorgo&Co is a creative studio that was founded in Paris and is led by Yorgo Tloupas. Yorgo is committed to making design more accessible, encouraging emerging designers to focus on local projects. This philosophy is reflected in Yorgo&Co’s work, as they prioritize brands that have traditionally been underserved in terms of aesthetics. Their goal is to create a more visually appealing future, transforming brands while highlighting the power thoughtful design can have on the ordinary or everyday.
Typeface: Dupincel
Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Plau is a design studio that has been making type since 2006. Their is work is diverse, spanning a range of styles from Brazilian influences to those based in traditional Swiss design. Plau’s founder, Rodrigo Saiani, believes that typography should be a part of everyday conversations, much like music. The goal of popularizing typography is what animates Plau’s moves. Through their designs, classes, workshops, and unique identities, Plau’s team pushes the field of type toward wider discussion and access.
Typeface: Hamster
Location: Berlin, Germany
Fontwerk is a team of international designers, font engineers and marketing experts, many from the original FontShop universe, the place where typographic trends were set, simple license models devised, experimental limits explored and the largest library of contemporary typefaces emerged. As a font publisher, Fontwerk gives a platform to typographers, providing them with the space and time to craft intentional typefaces. Their range of designers is reflected in their eclectic collection of type.
Typeface: Gasoek
Location: Seoul, South Korea
JAMO is a type design collective group who encourage the experimental and unconventional. They work towards moving beyond the Latin Alphabet by broadening the potential of Hangul to co-live with other worldwide letters. JAMO are also proponents of type education, providing professional learning, information, and discussion opportunities to designers who are wishing to develop their own typefaces. JAMO bridges the past and the present while suggesting new kinds of letterforms for the future.
FONTWERK
Happy Font & Happy Script.
YORGO&CO
PLAU
JAMO
How far have we come?
The Future of type
In recent years, the winners of the TDC Typeface Design Awards have reflected an exciting evolution in the world of typography. As seen below, the TDC has celebrated innovative typefaces that bridge functionality with artistry. In 2024, the selected typefaces embodied a rich narrative, pushing the boundaries of traditional design and inviting viewers to explore new dimensions of form and expression. The variety on display is a testament to what typography can achieve, making 2024 a standout year in the competition’s history, and showing how tradition and modernity coexist to shape the future of type design.
The 2024 winners showcase a vibrant diversity of visual styles. Innovative display typefaces, expressive scripts, global calligraphy, and geometric designs mark a stark departure from the conservative trends of the past two decades, which consisted of predominantly traditional serifs and sans serifs. This evolution of the competition highlights the concerted efforts of the TDC board to fostering a comprehensive dialogue in the realm of type design. In addition to having the most variety in recent years, 2024 saw the most winners, with 36 taking home an award.
1. Hamster Fontwerk GmbH
5. Canela Arabic Moros Key Foundry
3. Platia Toshi Omagari
7. Happy Script Yorgo&Co
2. Heldane Klim Type Foundry
6. Shanghai Sky ReejiType
4. Manuka Klim Type Foundry
8. Lithops Display Velvetyne